Fight
by Raberba girl
Summary: Kaoru knows that something's weird at her new school when Yukishiro picks a fight with Himura - and all the students run AWAY. This is NOT a Ken/Kao fic. You have been warned, so do not read this story and then whine to me about pairings.


[Fight]

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: Kaoru knows that something's weird at her new school when Yukishiro picks a fight with Himura - and all the students run AWAY. **This is NOT a Kenshin/Kaoru fic. You have been warned, so do not read this and then whine to me about pairings.**

o.o.o

In a sea of bobbing black heads, the two of them stood out rather dramatically. Kaoru sat in a corner of the cafeteria with her tray and watched the two handsome boys on opposite sides of the room.

[The scarred-faced redhead was surrounded by friends at a lively table, talking and laughing with the most captivating smile. Kaoru noted that his body was angled toward the girl beside him.

Like him, her remarkable beauty seemed unaffected by any flaw - she was in a wheelchair, but her long dark hair and serene features would not have been out of place on a model. Even as Kaoru watched, she said something and then leaned forward to take a small bite; as her hair swung into her face, her companion smiled and tucked the lock of hair behind her ear so tenderly that it was obvious she was his girlfriend.

_'Lucky,'_ Kaoru thought in admiration. To have scored a nice-looking boy like him, even when bound to a wheelchair. _'How did his face get cut?'_ Kaoru found herself wondering. He was in one of her classes, so she knew that his name was Himura Kenshin. She had been intrigued as soon as she'd seen him.]

She shifted her attention again to the other boy, the one with silvery hair who sat alone. He was hunched at his table, an untouched tray of food in front of him, attractive features unpleasantly twisted as he watched. His eyes were fixed on the same thing Kaoru's had been - the odd, beautiful couple across the room. _'Is he jealous?'_ Kaoru wondered. Perhaps he was in love with the girl in the wheelchair. _'Poor guy.'_

Then Kaoru straightened in alarm. Something in the silver-haired boy's expression had changed - he suddenly stood, seized his chair as if it weighed nothing, and began marching straight over to the couple. Kaoru was on her feet, frozen in shock and apprehension at the violence that was about to happen. Because she had been watching the silver-haired boy, she was the first to see, but now things were happening quickly and people were beginning to notice.

"Jouchan?" a concerned male voice said nearby. "What's up?" Then whoever it was cursed as he apparently noticed what Kaoru was staring at. "That idiot, his sister's _right there_!"

The people on the other side of the redhead's table were reacting now, but silently, too shocked to do more than gape and make stumbling gestures. The red-haired boy, his attention absorbed in the girl at his side, was only alerted when she herself noticed the approaching threat. Her eyes widened, but even as she was opening her mouth to speak, the redhead's expression changed, as if he understood it all in that one second. He frowned and narrowed his eyes, which made an astonishing change to his face. He was still as handsome as ever, but the almost child-like adorableness of his looks had instantly turned to something hard and dangerous.

It was at this point that Kaoru noticed the reactions of everyone else in the cafeteria. Someone had eagerly started to yell out, "A fight!" but abruptly broke off. "It's Yukishiro and Himura!" someone else screamed frantically, and then it was pandemonium as people jumped out of their seats and began surging for the doors.

_'Teenagers running _away_ from a fight?'_ Kaoru thought in disoriented astonishment. The implications of that were rather frightening.

The white-haired boy had reached his target; the chair was being raised over his head. Kaoru heard herself making a soft, strangled cry, too far away to do anything.

"Takani!" roared the boy who had spoken to her earlier, now on his feet at her side. "WATCH IT!"

A beautiful girl sitting opposite Himura ducked aside just in time. The chair came crashing viciously down at Himura's head, but almost without turning, he seized it and shoved it harmlessly across the table, where it swept through the empty space that the girl, Takani, had just vacated. As the chair clattered to the floor, Himura whirled in his chair to intercept the fists now swinging down at him.

"Enishi!" the girl in the wheelchair exclaimed angrily, moving back a little, "Stop it!"

Neither boy responded. The fight was tight and vicious; Himura was fierce and strong, but Kaoru could hear the boy beside her muttering under his breath, "What a lousy punch, don't you know how to make a fist, Himura? ... You deserved that one, what with the lame guard. ... For crying out loud, this isn't kendô club! No wonder Yukishiro thinks he's got a chance."

Himura finally managed to maneuver them away from the table and from the girl in the wheelchair, who was the only one who hadn't gotten out of the way. She had given up shouting at the boys and now sat with her hands folded in her lap, watching in silent disgust. _'She's brave,'_ Kaoru thought, _'but why won't she get out of the way?!'_

Himura somehow managed to get the other boy, Yukishiro, into a headlock; unfortunately it was the exact same moment when Yukishiro got in a vicious chop to the knee. Both boys went down, Himura grimacing in pain but still dragging his assailant with the strength of his grip. They writhed and kicked on the floor, actually bumping up against the girl's wheelchair a few times. Her brakes were unset, and she simply touched the wheels and drifted straight again. "Enishi," she tried to say once or twice, but subsided when she saw that she was not being listened to.

"Why doesn't someone _do_ something?!" Kaoru said helplessly.

The boy beside her chuckled darkly, and she turned to look at him for the first time. He was tall, with spiky hair and a white jacket. "You kidding? No one's gonna get between those two. Look, the teachers are freaking out."

Kaoru now noticed that several teachers were hovering a safe distance away, yelling into transceivers with their faces twisted in distress. None of them were making a move toward the fighters on the floor, not even the police officer who had just come in and was consulting rapidly with one of the other adults. Then Kaoru realized that she was the only student in the open - she must have gotten closer without realizing, in her frustrated desire to help. The spiky-haired boy was still beside her, but any other students still left in the cafeteria were pressed fearfully against the walls, watching in horrified fascination.

"This is ridiculous!" Kaoru suddenly growled. She marched over to the boys.

"Jouchan, no!" the guy behind her yelled, hurrying to catch up. "Are you crazy?"

The girl in the wheelchair looked up sharply when she saw them approaching. "Please get back," she snapped.

"Get away from them!" the girl called Takani yelled from behind the table. "Ken-san, be careful! Sagara!"

The spiky-haired boy (Sagara?) reached out to grasp Kaoru's shoulder, saying urgently, "Jouchan, don't be stupid."

She shook his hand off. "Let go of me! _Someone's_ got to stop this!" There was blood by now, trickling down their faces and smearing the floor around them. Too angry to give her actions more thought, Kaoru got straight up to the boys and yelled down at them, "STOP IT!"

Himura's wide blue eyes stared up at her and his mouth opened to speak, but his hands were rather critically occupied, and Yukishiro took absolutely no notice of her whatsoever. He seemed completely intent on choking the redhead to death.

"Enishi!" the girl in the wheelchair shouted. "That's _enough_!"

One of Yukishiro's kicking legs caught Kaoru in the ankle. She gasped and stumbled, but Sagara caught her before she could fall. Then he tried to pull her away, but she yanked free again. She had been stupid to not be on her guard, and was determined to not be caught like that again. "I said, _stop it_!" She reached down with some dim idea of pulling the fighters apart, but Sagara had apparently had enough. He shoved Kaoru away with a strength that shocked her, then began kicking Yukishiro viciously in the stomach.

"S...Sagara-san," the long-haired girl gasped, but seemed hesitant to protest fully.

Yukishiro snarled, grimacing with pain; his face turned to glare murderously at his new assailant, but he could do nothing without releasing his grip on Himura.

Then the girl reached for Kaoru. Kaoru was surprised, but stood as firmly as she could and leaned to help when she realized that the girl was trying to stand. "Thank you," the girl murmured when she was upright. "Now, please let go."

Startled, Kaoru uncertainly loosened her grip. The girl let go of her and allowed herself to fall before Kaoru realized what she was doing. "Wait!"

To Kaoru's astonishment, both Himura and Yukishiro froze when the girl landed on top of them. Sagara backed away, muttering, "Idiots."

"That girl," Kaoru gasped, but he was shaking his head.

"Forget it, Jouchan. This is between the three of them."

_'Three of them?'_ Kaoru thought in confusion.

Then some of it was explained when Yukishiro growled, "Neesan."

"Enishi," she murmured, looking perfectly calm, even graceful as she lay there. "Please. This is not the place." Her hand caressed his face with surprising gentleness. "Let go. Get up. We can talk later."

He stared at her, not moving. It was Himura who moved first, cautiously pulling away from the loosened chokehold and sitting up. No one said anything as Himura worked his way free and the adults finally started hurrying forward. The officer swooped down and clamped handcuffs around Yukishiro's wrists; he craned his head over his shoulder and snarled, but it was too late. Then he noticed that Himura was picking up the girl from the floor and carefully setting her back in her wheelchair, and he screamed in fury. "DON'T TOUCH HER!"

Himura ignored him. The girl gave Yukishiro a grave look, but said nothing. Himura leaned close as if to kiss her, but at a violent intake of breath from Yukishiro, he checked himself and merely touched her cheek instead, his eyes holding hers for a long moment.

Then the officer was yanking Yukishiro to his feet and shoving him toward the doorway. "Himura-kun, let's go," he called shortly over his shoulder, and the redhead turned to follow him.

He paused when he passed by Kaoru and Sagara. "You're new here, aren't you," he remarked. "This one's name is Himura Kenshin. Welcome to Hiten Mitsurugi High School."

"I...uh, I'm Kamiya Kaoru," she stammered. "It's nice to- What the heck!"

He smiled a little, then glanced at the boy beside her. "Thank you, Sagara."

"Shut up," Sagara snarled. "I didn't do it for _you_. You and Yukishiro and your girlfriend aren't the only people in the universe, moron!"

To Kaoru's surprise, the smile didn't falter. "Apologies, Sagara. This one kept an eye on Megumi-dono, that he did. She would not have been harmed."

"What? Why would I care what happens to her!"

Himura only made a little bow and followed the impatient-looking officer outside.

Kaoru blew out a breath. Outside, she could hear the crowd of students chattering excitedly, many of them calling to or reaching out to touch Himura as he passed, trailing in the wake of the police officer. He seemed very popular here, and the adults seemed to trust him as well, if they were letting him walk along freely after he had just participated in such a vicious-looking fight.

As for Yukishiro...Kaoru almost felt a little sorry for him. He looked furious and helpless, like a trapped tiger. She wondered if the girl in the wheelchair was really his sister, and why he seemed so angry about (Kaoru assumed) her relationship with Himura.

"What was all that about?" Kaoru asked, turning to Sagara beside her.

He seemed preoccupied with the little crowd of students who had gathered around Himura's girlfriend, and slid his eyes back to meet hers reluctantly. "That was pretty dumb, Jouchan."

"I couldn't just let them take each other apart," she protested. "Himura-kun hadn't even _done_ anything, had he?"

Sagara laughed hollowly. "Yukishiro hates him just 'cause he breathes."

"Does it have to do with that girl?" Kaoru asked quietly. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Tomoe. Yukishiro's sister. Look, Jouchan, I gotta go." He started to move, then paused to look back at Kaoru. "Don't get between them again. This was _nothing_ - Himura and Yukishiro have destroyed buildings before. People have gotten hurt. You ever see them about to fight again, you _run_. Got it?"

Kaoru folded her arms. "I think I'll decide that for myself, Sagara-kun."

"It's just Sagara, or Sanosuke," he snapped, "or even a dumb nickname, whatever. That '-kun' stuff bugs me." He turned away again and hurried over to the girls. Kaoru watched their interaction.

"Nice going, bird-head," the girl called Takani said scathingly.

"Well, gee, thanks," he shot back, obviously not sure what she was mad about.

"Kicking Yukishiro-kun when he was down, with his sister and Ken-san _right there_-"

"Your precious _Ken-san_ was getting his butt kicked. That idiot's helpless without a weapon - not that Yukishiro's much better."

Tomoe now spoke up, a slight smile touching her mouth. "It is my boyfriend and my brother whom you speak of, Sagara-kun."

His face colored a little. "Sorry," he said defensively. "Got nothing against you, but I'm not gonna pretend I like the guys you hang out with."

"Himura's not the evil creep you think he is," a petite girl with a long braid spoke up, glaring at Sagara. "Just 'cause your aniki got caught in some crossfire like _a million years ago_ doesn't mean Himura agreed with what happened! And besides, he was not so getting his butt kicked!"

"Forget it, Misao-chan," Takani said contemptuously. "Nothing you say is going to get through to this bird-head."

Sagara's answering retort was lost as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Crowds of students started moving again, some kids heading into the cafeteria and others dispersing outside. Kaoru sighed and gathered up her own things so she could find her next class. _'Everyone at this school is weird...'_

She found that a girl had fallen into step beside her. "Hello, there!"

"Uh...hi," Kaoru said, a little taken aback.

The girl had a very cute, pleasant smile. "I'm Sekihara Tae. That was scary back there, wasn't it? You were very brave to stay there and try to stop them!"

"It's Kaoru," she offered with a smile, "Kamiya Kaoru. I wasn't that brave, Sekihara-san... What I did was probably pretty stupid."

"Call me Tae," she said warmly. "Himura-kun is actually really nice, but Yukishiro-san is scary!" She sighed. "It must be so hard for poor Tomoe-san."

"What's the story with that, anyway?" Kaoru asked curiously. "Or shouldn't I ask?"

Tae shrugged. "Pretty much everyone in the school already knows. Tomoe-san actually used to hate Himura-kun, too...the accident was his fault, after all."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Accident?"

"Yes," Tae said solemnly. "Tomoe-san used to have another boyfriend at her old school. Apparently they were out driving one night, and somehow, Himura-kun ended up in the middle of the road - no one's really sure why, since he wasn't in a car or anything. Tomoe-san's boyfriend swerved to avoid him, and their car ended up crashed at the bottom of a hill. Tomoe-san was injured - her legs, you know. And her boyfriend was killed. They even say that that's how Himura-kun's face got scarred, when he was trying to pull Tomoe-san out of the wreck."

Kaoru's breath caught. So it was Himura's fault that Tomoe was in a wheelchair...his fault that Tomoe had lost someone she loved. Yet now she was going out with him? "What made her change her mind?" Kaoru asked in confusion.

Tae laughed. "That's what everyone wants to know! When the Yukishiro siblings first transferred here, they were like...like vengeful ghosts or something, always on the outskirts, always watching Himura-kun; everyone was afraid of them. Yukishiro-san took really good care of his sister in those days, she's really precious to him. But then..." Tae shrugged. "One day, Himura-kun and Tomoe-san came to school together and said they were an item." She grinned. "That was also when Himura-kun got the other scar, but he won't tell anyone how it happened."

"The other scar?"

"You know those two slashes on his face? He didn't get them at the same time. One was because of the accident, but the other one came later." Tae shook her head. "Himura-kun is the most mysterious boy I've ever known, though sometimes it's hard to remember that! He's so nice and popular, you'd never think he's been involved with such dangerous stuff!"

"What about Yukishiro-kun?" Kaoru wanted to know. Something about the lonely boy bothered her. "I guess he didn't like it that his sister fell in love with the guy who'd ruined her life."

Tae nodded. "It's no wonder. Himura-kun tried to be friends, but Yukishiro-kun made it clear that that's never going to happen. I can't imagine what it must be like for Tomoe-san, caught between them all the time!"

They had been standing talking outside Kaoru's classroom, but now the hallways was getting pretty empty.

"I'd better go!" Tae exclaimed. "I'll see you around, Kamiya-san!"

"See you!" Kaoru called, and hurried inside just in time. She had so much to think about, she barely heard a word of the lecture. Public school was already turning out to be quite a lively place...

o.o.o

Author's Notes: **If you're a Kenshin/Kaoru fan, I DON'T CARE WHAT PAIRINGS YOU LIKE OR HATE. Don't bother telling me, because all you will accomplish is to make yourself look like an idiot who can't read author's notes.**

The partial draft of this story has been sitting on my flash drive for YEARS. Now that the rabid Kenshin/Kaoru fans have succeeded in both making me loathe their favorite pairing and driving me out of the Rurouni Kenshin fandom, I figured I'd just turn the opening scene of this story into a one-shot and post it so I can get it off my To Do List.

It was originally supposed to be a Kaoru/Enishi fic (I don't support that pairing in canon-based settings, because I don't think it's right to ship a victim with her kidnapper, but I like it all right in AUs where the circumstances are different). It was because I'd read a KT fic which mentioned Kaoru in the epilogue, so I wondered who Kaoru would end up with now that Kenshin has Tomoe, then I realized that both her and Enishi are single, so voila. I thought it would be an interesting pairing to experiment with, and the plot bunny ended up as a high school AU.

Now, however, since I'm never gonna finish the multi-chapter it was intended to be, it's just a random one-shot instead, with Kenshin/Tomoe as the only pairing. **For heaven's sake, KK fans, IT'S FICTION. It doesn't even **_**matter**_** what the pairings are. Seriously, grow up; just read and write the pairings you like, and quit bugging people who like different pairings than you do.**


End file.
